Insert for use with a remote control base

Abstract

A remote control includes a base and an insert that is attached in a detachable manner to the base. The base includes a remote control circuit, a button coupled to operate the remote control circuit and a fastener capable of holding the insert. The insert includes a printed publication (such as a card, a sheet of paper or a booklet) containing at least one leaf having human-understandable content (such as text and / or graphics). To assemble the remote control, a user attaches the insert to the fastener, so that the human-understandable content is laid over the button. Thereafter, when the user operates the button (e.g. by touching the leaf), the base transmits a remote control signal that causes a host device to visually display information related to the human-understandable content at the touched location. A base in the form of a three ring binder gives the user an intuitive feel of simply touching human-understandable content on a leaf in the binder to view a display of information related to the content. In addition to the human-understandable content, the insert can carry a predetermined pattern that can be sensed by a sensor during mounting of the insert on the base. The base transmits, in the remote control signal, a number determined from the predetermined pattern thereby to indicate to the host device the insert currently in the base.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09 / 991,411, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09 / 013,329, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,327,459, which is in turn a continuation-in-part application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08 / 824,103 that is in turn a continuation-in-part application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08 / 818,558, all of which are incorporated by reference herein in their entirety. [0002] This application is also related to the following copending, commonly owned U.S. Patents and applications and are incorporated by reference herein in their entirety: [0003] Ser. No. 08 / 715,809; [0004] Ser. No. 08 / 497,177; [0005] Ser. No. 08 / 550,976, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,839,905, a divisional of U.S. Pat. No. 5,624,265; [0006] Ser. No. 08 / 692,994, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,763,112, that is a continuation of U.S. Pat. No. 5,569,549; [0007] Ser. No. 08 / 630,015; [0008] Ser. Nos. 08 / 916,780 and 08 / 9...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0032] The printed publication is attached to the base in a detachable manner so that the user can replace the attached printed publication with another printed publication, thereby to reuse the base any number of times. Detachable attachment of a printed publication to the remote control base allows the attached printed publication to be free of electronic components, and therefore be manufactured by conventional printing processes. In a first embodiment, the insert includes, as the printed publication, a single leaf, e.g. a card (such as a postcard, a playing card, or a business card). In this embodiment, the base has the form of a normal remote control (e.g. length being several times width). The base includes a fastener formed by two “U” shaped channels that each face the other along the longitudinal side of the base. In this embodiment, the user assembles the remote control by sliding two opposite edges of a card within the two channels of the fastener until the card touches a portion (also called “stop member”) of the base. Therefore, at the end of assembly, text and / or graphics carried in a central region of the card lie over a button that is located between the two channels.

[0045] Therefore, a printed publication when mounted in the file folder remote control can be laid open and touched in the normal manner of a book. Furthermore, printed content on both sides of a leaf can be used to select information, e.g. by using a back cover for one side, simply turning over the leaf and using the front cover for the other side. Such a file folder remote control having a button in each of a front cover and a back cover eliminates the need to remove and re-insert a leaf as required by the card-reader remote control. Also, the file-folder remote control does not have an identity reader, and is therefore cheaper than the card-reader remote control.

Problems solved by technology

The mouse and keyboard are more difficult to use than a TV remote control, because the user is required to be knowledgeable about computers.

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